The award winning online magazine for readers and writers of multi-cultural literature.

Monday, June 15, 2009

FEATURED AUTHOR: Gloria Mallette

Nationally acclaimed award winning author GLORIA MALLETTE began her true literary journey by self-publishing her second novel Shades of Jade in April of 2000. By July and 13,000 sold copies later, Gloria signed on with Random House who re-released Shades of Jade in 2001. Shades of Jade made several best sellers lists, including Black Board, Essence Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, and The Washington Post/Washington is Also Reading listing.

Gloria has been featured in The New York Daily News, USAToday, ToDay’s Black Woman, Upscale Magazine, and The Pocono Record. Gloria also has a featured novella, Come Tomorrow, on the USAToday website.

To her credit, Gloria now has ten published titles including the newly released SASSY; Weeping Willows Dance; and Living, Breathing Lies winner of the National USA Book News Best Book 2007 Award and the 2008 Indie Excellence Award.

SASSYThe murder of two women in New York City has Detective Frank Keifer looking for a vicious killer while Sassy Davenport, a popular romance novelist, has finally met the man of her dreams.

When architect Norris Yoshito, on a whim, steps off the street into one of Sassy’s book signings, he is instantly smitten and Sassy is curiously intrigued. A passionate relationship develops, but when key people associated with Norris are brutally murdered, Sassy is thrust into a world of uncertainty and doubt. Norris appears to have two personalities: One is that of a violent man, the other a man of great compassion who helps Sassy with her cousin who is dying of AIDS.

Fear and edge-of-the-seat suspense plunges Sassy into a nightmare of deception and danger where romance cease to exist and the real world of murder is the force to be reckoned with.

What would you like readers to take away from your book?

I hope readers will sense how hard I work to make my characters as real as possible.

Why did you choose to write this book?

I started out trying to write my first romance novel, but right away a murder happened and the romance was that Sassy Davenport was a romance novelist who meets a man a signing. From there the characters told me the story they wanted me to write.

What did you learn while writing this book?

It's not so much what I learned, it was what was reinforced while writing SASSY. Allowing my characters to guide and lead makes for a more interesting story.What was your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

There are so many great scenes but the ones with Sassy and Bernard, her cousin who is dying of AIDS, are always emotional and sometimes funny. When Bernard reveals how he got AIDS was heart wrenching. Then again, the scenes with Sassy and Norris are great because of their passion; oh, and the scene toward the end when Sassy has to fight for her life is great. Hey, I could go on and on.

What one thing about writing do you wish other non-writers would understand?

Interesting question. I guess I want non-writers to understand that writers can't please everyone. I've gotten comments that a story should have gone another way, or that a particular characters wasn't likeable, while others liked the story just the way it was written.

What is the best lesson you have learned from another writer?

Not to take it personally when readers hate my books.

What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer?

I guess the toughest test I faced was when I had to decide whether to sign my third contract with my ex-publisher or go back to self-publishing. My publisher wanted me to write erotica but that was not the direction I wanted to go in. I opted to go back to self publishing so that I could continue to write the stories I feel passionate about.

What is something readers would be surprised you do?

Readers would be surprised that I ride a tractor to cut the grass in my front yard. Really fun.

What are three things you wish you’d known before you reached where you are now?

For one, I wish I had known that my ex-publisher had no intention of ever promoting my books. I would have never signed with them. I wish I had known about self publishing way back in the early nineties. I would have gotten an earlier start in publishing. Lastly, I wish I had known how to use the internet to my advantage a lot sooner.

How do you reach new readers?

I reach new readers by networking on the social networks like Facebook, Shelfari, Goodreads, etc.

If you could have dinner with 3 authors to talk with about their writing (living or deceased) who would you invite and why?

The only author I would like to sit down with and talk to about his work would be Stephen King. I'd like to know how he comes up with his varied storylines. Can you give us one do and one don’t for those aspiring to be a writer?

For those aspiring to be a writer, I suggest they read, re-read, and re-read again their manuscripts before sending to an agent because they will get only one opportunity. I suggest they don't copy anyone else's style or storyline. Too many authors today are beginning to write and sound like each other.